Overview
- .aetna is a brand generic top-level domain (gTLD) proposed under ICANN's New gTLD Program.
- Applicant: Aetna Life Insurance Company.
- Registry listed: Neustar (status: Proposed).
- Intended use: brand-focused namespace for Aetna and related services, envisioned as a single-registrant TLD.
History
- The string was applied for as part of ICANN's New gTLD Program (Reveal Day referenced 13 June 2012).
- Applicant materials describe Aetna's long history in life and health insurance and its ownership of numerous trademarks and domain names.
- Registry operator is shown as Neustar in the application/infobox; the applicant anticipates operating the gTLD as a single-registrant TLD.
Usage and Audience
- Primary audience: Aetna and its affiliates for use in delivering insurance, health care and related services and information.
- Intended as an internal/brand TLD rather than a general-purpose or public registration space.
Registration Rules
- The applicant contemplates a single-registrant model: all domain registrations in the TLD would be registered to and maintained by the Registry Operator for its own exclusive use.
- Registry Operator would not sell, distribute, or transfer control or use of registrations to third parties that are not affiliates of the registry operator.
- The applicant has not finalized exact types of domain names or precise uses, but states the TLD is likely to be restricted to Aetna and its affiliates.
SEO and Brand Impact
- Aetna emphasizes its well-known and widely recognized marks and the role of the applied-for gTLD in identifying Aetna as the source of its products and services.
- As a closed brand TLD controlled by Aetna, .aetna would primarily serve brand protection, trust, and consistent brand identity rather than open-market SEO strategies.
Notable Cases or Examples
- Aetna has owned aetna.com since 1993 and operates related domains such as aetnamedicare.com and docfind.com.
- The applicant notes ownership of over 1,200 domain names related to the AETNA brand.
- Examples of U.S. trademark registrations mentioned in the application: AETNA (Reg. No. 1,939,424), AETNA NAVIGATOR (Reg. No. 3,308,001), AETNA HEALTHFUND (Reg. No. 2,765,645), DocFind (Reg. No. 2,075,630).
Operator
Aetna Life Insurance Company
Whois
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object
domain: AETNA
organisation: Aetna Life Insurance Company
address: 151 Farmington Avenue
address: Hartford CT 06156
address: United States of America (the)
contact: administrative
name: Jeff Muehlhausen
organisation: Aetna Life Insurance Company
address: 151 Farmington Avenue
address: Hartford CT 06156
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +011 860 273 0123
e-mail: domains@aetna.com
contact: technical
name: IANA Contact
organisation: GoDaddy Registry
address: 100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address: Tempe AZ 85281
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1 480 505 8800
fax-no: +1 480 624 2546
e-mail: iana@registry.godaddy
nserver: A.NIC.AETNA 2001:dcd:1:0:0:0:0:9 37.209.192.9
nserver: B.NIC.AETNA 2001:dcd:2:0:0:0:0:9 37.209.194.9
nserver: C.NIC.AETNA 2001:dcd:3:0:0:0:0:9 37.209.196.9
nserver: NS1.DNS.NIC.AETNA 156.154.144.5 2610:a1:1071:0:0:0:0:5
nserver: NS2.DNS.NIC.AETNA 156.154.145.5 2610:a1:1072:0:0:0:0:5
nserver: NS3.DNS.NIC.AETNA 156.154.159.5 2610:a1:1073:0:0:0:0:5
ds-rdata: 40324 8 2 6a4c3c1cd8d865ce88fc01c009d393d12ab8b585a68a196c4b2651239f531b85
whois:
status: ACTIVE
remarks: Registration information: https://www.aetna.com
created: 2016-04-21
changed: 2024-05-11
source: IANA
